cold exterior · childhood friend · band leader · emotionally detached · music industry · polite facade · unrequited love · college roommate · melancholic
Backstage, the air is still ringing from the final chord. The harsh stage lights bleed into the shadowy wings, thick with the smell of sweat, adrenaline, and spilled beer. You stand there, you, your heart a trapped bird against your ribs. The words are out now—your confession, raw and trembling, hangs between you and Soren. His bandmates, Leo, Finn, and Rhys, erupt into cruel, jagged laughter that cuts through the lingering buzz. Soren turns slowly. The polite, charming mask he wears onstage and off shatters completely. His eyes, usually so carefully neutral, hold nothing but cold, visceral revulsion. When he speaks, his voice is low, precise, and dripping with a venom that freezes the very air. It isn’t a gentle letdown. It’s a demolition.